In 2006, while travelling in Argentina, young entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie encountered children too poor to afford shoes, who developed injuries on their feet that often led to serious health problems. Blake knew he wanted to help, but rather than start a charity, he went against conventional wisdom and created a for profit business to help the children who he met. With the help of a local shoemaker, Blake struck out to merge activism and fashion in the form of a local canvas shoe worn by farmers and gauchos alike, called the alpargata. Blake called his creation TOMS Shoes (which stands for "Tomorrow's Shoes") and promised to give a pair of new shoes to a child in need for every pair that he sold. Starting with only two hundred pairs of handmade shoes, optimism, and entrepreneurial charisma, Blake successfully launched TOMS into the high fashion world. They can now be seen adorning the feet of celebrities such as Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, and Tobey Maguire.

Blake's mission is to prove that you can achieve financial success and make the world a better place at the same time. In this book, he shares the six counterintuitive principles that have guided the growth of TOMS for the past three years:

Make business personal Be resourceful without resources Reverse retirement Keep it simple Stay humble Give more, advertise less

The result is an inspiring account of a young man whose entrepreneurial spirit was able to affect change in the world, and a call to others to be inspired to do the same.

As part of the One for One initiative, Random House will provide a new book to a child in need with every copy of Start Something That Matters purchased.

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Review

"Mycoskie's book is an engaging account of how he founded the company ... Much of the book is inspiring and helpful, packed with ideas on simplifying your life" (Financial Times)

"As a creative and open-hearted business model for our times, it is worth pondering carefully." (The Wall Street Journal)

About the Author

Blake has created five businesses since graduating from college, among them a national college campus laundry service, and an online driver's education school that featured hybrid cars. You can read more about TOMS shoes on their website, TOMSshoes.com; Blake Mycoskie also maintains a blog, blakemycoskie.blogspot.com.

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A very important book. I wish I could have read a book like this 20 odd years or more ago. It's potentially life changing. If you are in the least bit entrepreneurial, or care about how to help other people live better lives, you should read this book. I distrust most traditional charities because (each country is different) in places like America for each dollar you give them up to 95 cents can be 'wasted' on costs, like fancy offices, private jets, massive wages for the executives etc. With Toms and many of the companies and organisations Blake talks about in this book. You get the feeling that their aim is to pass on as much of that dollar as possible, and, that is how it should be. It also made me think about doing something some sort of social enterprise as well. And I guess that's the power of this book. If it makes just a fraction of it's readers act, many, many more charitable organisations could be born that create positive change.So to repeat a very good and life affirming book.

I started out reading this book expecting a story about how Blake built his business and his experiences. He duly delivered on those.

But that's not why you should read it.

What got me was his firm belief that businesses has a responsibility to contribute socially, heck even charitably, not only by his business exemplifying the very possibility of doing so, but that he goes all out to show you how you could build your own business incorporating social good while not forgetting the cornerstones of a business startup; marketing well, being resourceful and how one builds a strong team.

If it pulls your strings somewhere to start something of your own, while giving something back, please do yourself a favour and read it!

Great book!It’s a good mix between a biography and practical tips about how to manage yourself and your business, especially at the very beginning.I’d suggest this book to everyone, especially to understand better how important is a giving project, even (and maybe most importantly) if you don’t run a non-profit company or if you don’t have a company.

Love this! I have so many pages bookmarked because of the amount of resources he gives. So refreshing to read how Toms started, in detail. The first time I read it made me believe I could do it, if he did. But a few years later I read it again, and found that he was already a business man before he started Toms, so it requires a lot more hard work and guts, than I first thought.

A really great story. Whenever I see anyone wearing TOM'S shoes I love asking if they know the story and if not I delightfully share it. Apart from enjoying his story I appreciates all the tips for my own ideas and business and would really recommend this read.

Really great book if you're looking to do exactly what the title says. It contains both inspirational stories of the TOMS business (and other businesses) and practical tips on how you can get started or move forward. I ordered my first pair of TOMS shoes after reading this! Such a great initiative.

Life changing book ... Set up my own blog to help give bikes to kiddies in need around the world ...halvies.co.uk ....Want to do something that matters .. In this day of "celebrity nonsense" taking up far too much of people's time, here was a guy who wanted to change other people's lives ... Not just the kiddies, but everyone who reads this book and does something that matters ..Deep down we all know that helping others is the secret to happiness .. Unfortunately we all get caught up in competing to try and be more successful and "celebrity" than others ..Ironic thing is, Blake has become massive "celebrity" by giving millions of kiddies a pair of shoes ..Don't just read it, embrace it, & do something that matters. Anything ..........

I'd heard about Toms shoes and the ethos but reading the book made me understand why they do what they do. The book is clear, concise, straight to the point and easy to digest and understand. I personally liked the stories not only surrounding Toms shoes but also other brands that have 'started something that matters' and how they have made what they do a success today. Ultimately- what Blake is trying to encourage is to start with what you have and see where it takes you. Totally been inspired and I continue to refer back to it. Worth reading in my opinion.